FIRST TEAM

Player of the Year

Amity

Stats: The left-handed catcher his .493 this season for the Spartans. The senior showed off his power too with 6 home runs and 21 RBIs. He walked 27 times and had 34 hits en route to breaking the Amity record for career hits. Winkel finished his career with 14 home runs and 112 RBIs.

Honors: Gatorade Player of the Year. CHSCA Player of the Year and three-time CHSCA All-State selection. SCC Player of the Year and three-time All SCC selection. 2017-18 Collegiate Baseball Pre-Season All-American. 2017-18 Rawlings-Perfect Game All- Northeast Region First Team. 2017-18 Rawlings-Perfect Game Pre-Season Third All-American. 2017 SCC Tournament MVP. Two-time New Haven Register All-Area Team selection. Was selected in the 31st round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.

Up next: Will play at UConn next season.

♦♦♦

Coach of the Year

Bill Mrowka

Cheshire

Stats: Led the Rams to a 21-5 record which included the Class LL state championship. The team finished No. 1 in the final GameTimeCT poll. The Class LL championship game win gave him 250 wins for his career.

♦♦♦

Mike Burrows

Waterford

Stats: The senior right hander was lights out this season. In just eight starts he went 6-0 with 5 complete game shutouts He allowed just 17 hits in 47 innings pitched included throwing back-to-back no-hitters and falling one out short of a third straight no-hitter. He finished the season with a 0.38 ERA and 98 strikeouts and allowed just 2 earned runs all year. At the plate he batted .318 and had a .426 OBP. He knocked in 21 runs and had 27 hits.

Honors: CHSCA All-State Selection. All-ECC selection.

Up next: Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates after being drafted in the 11th round of the MLB Draft by the Pirates. He has begun his professional career with the Pirates

♦♦♦

Ben DeLaubell

Cheshire

Stats: The senior right-hander went 9-1 on the mound and had a 0.45 ERA en route to leading the Rams to the Class LL state title and the No. 1 ranking in the GameTimeCT poll. He struck out 66 batters in 61 innings and batted .326 with an OPS of .939. He led the Rams with 28 hits, 21 RBIs and 3 home runs. For his career he finished with 19 wins pitching and he set a school record with 25 doubles over his career. This season he threw a no-hitter against Notre Dame-West Haven.

Jack Donofrio

Simsbury

Stats: The junior slugger hit 4 home runs and added 16 RBIs and 15 stolen bases on his way to batting .397 this season with a .463 OBP. He had 27 hits including 5 doubles and 5 triples. On the mound he was light outs going 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA. He struck out 53 and batters hit just .045 against him.

Honors: CHSCA All-State selection. All-CCC selection.

Up next: Committed to play at the University of Notre Dame.

♦♦♦

Jimmy Evans

St. Joseph

Stats: The Cadets’ lefty batted .421 with a .516 OBP and 32 hits. He had 5 doubles, 3 triples and 2 home runs while knocking in 25 RBIs and scoring 28 runs. On the mound he went 4-1.

Honors: All-FCIAC.

♦♦♦

Ben Fero

Trumbull

Stats: The Eagles’ right-hander went 4-2 with a 0.73 ERA and 0.86 WHIP this season. He struck out 55 batters in 47.2 innings and allowed just 5 earned runs. He threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 loss to Darien in the FCIAC Tournament.]

Honors: CHSCHA All-State selection. All-FCIAC selection.

Up next: Will play at Stony Brook University next season.

♦♦♦

Will Homar

New Britain

Stats: The hard throwing righty went 5-3 on the mound with a 0.74 ERA in 50 innings. He gave Windsor its only in-state regular season loss when he no-hit them.

Honors: CHSCHA All-State selection. All-CCC selection.

Up next: Will play at Southern Connecticut State University next season.

♦♦♦

Chad Knight

Staples

Stats: The junior slugger and ace did it all for the Wreckers this season. He went 3-1 on the mound with a 1.87 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 29 innings. At the plate he batted .408 and hit 7 doubles, 2 triples and 4 home runs.

Honors: CHSCA All-State selection. All-FCIAC selection.

Up next: Committed to play at Duke University.

♦♦♦

Will Lucas

Fairfield Prep

Stats: At the plate the shortstop batted .475 with 38 hits, 11 doubles, 7 triples and 5 home runs. He added 32 RBIs and scored 23 runs while stealing 20 bases. The right-handed went 6-1 with 3 saves and allowed just 1 earned run in 24 innings. He struck out 31 batters and had a 0.29 ERA.

Will Nowak

South Windsor

Stats: The senior hurler did it all for Bobcats. On the mound he was 4-0 with a 0.58 ERA. At the plate he hit .543 with 2 home runs and 21 RBIs.

Honors: CHSCA All-State selection. All-CCC selection.

Up next: Will play at the University of Hartford next season.

♦♦♦

Alex Price

Ridgefield

Stats: The southpaw senior went 7-2 on the season with 5 complete games and added two saves. Of his 7 wins he beat four top 10 teams. In 69.1 innings he struck out 75 batters. He had a 1.51 ERA and batters hit just .187 against him this season. He helped lead the Tigers to their first ever state championship appearance. When he wasn’t pitching he was manning centerfield for the Tigers and hit .338 at the dish.

Honors: All-FCIAC selection.

Up next: Will play at Middlebury College next season.

♦♦♦

Alex Rosario

Windsor

Stats: The left-hander led Windsor to one of the schools best seasons ever. He went 12-0, struck out 99 batters and had a 1.32 ERA to help lead the Warriors to the Class L championship games. For his career Rosario went 27-1. At the plate he hit .403 with 25 hits, 24 RBIs and he hit 3 home runs.

Honors: CHSCA All-State selection. All-CCC selection.

Up next: Will play at Middlebury College next season.

♦♦♦

Noah Rubino

Guilford

Stats: The right-hander went 6-2 with a 0.70 ERA and 1 save. In 60 innings he struck out 79 batters and allowed just 6 earned runs all year.

Honors: CHSCA All-State selection. All-SCC selection.

Up next: Will play at Siena next season.

♦♦♦

Jimmy Sullivan

Wethersfield

Stats: The left-handed slugging outfielder was unstoppable at the plate this season. With 42 hits, 6 triples, 6 home runs and 31 RBIs, Sullivan hit .525 this season with a .608 OBP. He also led the Eagles to their first ever state championship.

Honors: CHSCA All-State selection. All-CCC selection.

Up next: Will play at the University of Virginia next season.

♦♦♦

Eddie Sweeney

Hand

Stats: Coming off an injury shortened season the senior slugger went right back to work. He hit a school record 9 home runs to go along with 27 RBIs, 21 runs scored and 21 hits. He also batted .420. He finished his career as the Tigers’ all-time home run leader with 14 career home runs.

Old Comments

My only comment is in this era we should asterisk any kid who will turn 19 by the end of their senior year. I am sure there are a lot. Being a gap year kid during high school is a competitive edge. It would be interesting to see. Not that anyone cares but at the end of the day a 18 yr old going on 19 yr old senior is playing against a lot 15 – 16 yr old kids. Look at travel ball talent. 16U under talent is no where near the talent level of 18 U. Or a extreme example is a 13 yr old playing Little League. Big physical difference wouldn’t you say? But is only 1 year. Just keeping it real…